Planning Board backs downtown 6,500‑seat soccer stadium, forwards TIF plan to city council

The Omaha Planning Board on a unanimous vote recommended approval of a redevelopment plan that would place a 6,500‑seat open‑air soccer stadium and surrounding mixed‑use development on roughly 25 acres owned by Union Pacific north of Abbott Avenue.

City and developer representatives told the board the project would combine a publicly owned stadium leased to Downtown Soccer Stadium Inc. (DSSI) with two phases of mixed‑use construction, including residential units above ground‑floor retail. Don, a project presenter, told the board the city has a purchase contract with Union Pacific to acquire the site and is moving forward in partnership with the private developer.

Marco Floriani of the mayor’s office said the mayor’s office supports the project and described the site as “the perfect location” for an open‑air professional sports stadium that would add about 25 acres to downtown. David Levy, representing Downtown Soccer Stadium Inc., said the stadium parcel totals about 9 acres with roughly seven acres of adjacent mixed‑use space and that the applicant hopes to begin construction in 2026 with project completion in 2028.

The redevelopment plan presented an overall project investment the team put at more than $316,000,000 and requested $48,214,614 in TIF assistance. Michael Sands and other counsel explained the capital stack would rely on multiple revenue streams—TIF, land acquisition and stadium bonds, naming rights, parking and ticket surcharges—alongside state sales tax “turnback” provisions under LB 1317 that the developers have applied to receive. Levy said the team expects the combined revenue streams to support bond payments.

Board members probed the financing and timing. One member asked which parts of the TIF request accounted for the $48.2 million figure and where the $29 million of public improvements cited in the packet fit in; developer counsel explained the smaller figure reflects right‑of‑way public improvements while the total eligible TIF costs and stadium costs are larger and include land acquisition and the publicly owned stadium. Jennifer Taylor of the city law department said bond issuance would occur in tranches over two to three years tied to final agreements and approvals.

Alexis Boulos, general manager for Union Omaha, said the stadium is sized for current league requirements but can be expanded in the future. The developers said they have retained Municap for financial modeling and that they are pursuing statutory turnback tax approval from the state as part of the financing plan.

The board voted to recommend approval and will forward the redevelopment plan and TIF application to the City Council and later approvals that include the redevelopment agreement, ground lease and bond authorizations.

Next steps: the project team will continue finalizing financing and redevelopment documents, pursue the state turnback tax process, present urban design drawings to the Urban Design Review Board and return to City Council for final approvals before bonds can be issued.